I personally don't think Ni No Kuni is the best RPG. Xenoblade still holds that honor for me, but Ni No Kuni is immensely satisfying nonetheless---PSN: JVir NNID: JayvirSmash Bros Mains- Samus, Ness, Pit

So lets just drop the "dark souls isn't a jrpg because of how it plays" when they perhaps invented that formula that wrpg's use. I may be wrong, but I know they have been using it for over 15 years now.

D&D is the first true WRPG. FF or Dragon Warrior is the first true JRPG (not quite sure on this one).

King's Field/Souls borrowed elements from everything and did its own thing.

I think they resemble Roguelikes in their emphasis on stat and equipment management, and brutal, unforgiving difficulty, where you're guaranteed to die. The main difference is that your character death simply sends you back to the previous bonfire, instead of being killed forever. Like I said, they only slightly resemble the genre, though.

Well, I guess. It's more consumable management than equipment management in RLs though. I mean, upgrading equipment is important, but it's entirely possible to play through some of them without finding a single upgrade item. You also don't really manage your stats in most of them. You just happen along stat boosting potions from time-to-time.

The death penalty is actually quite lenient compared to most of the RPGs before this gen.---Polite conversation should never include Politics, Religion or what constitutes an RPG.Playing a game for it's story is like watching porn for it's story.

Well, I guess. It's more consumable management than equipment management in RLs though. I mean, upgrading equipment is important, but it's entirely possible to play through some of them without finding a single upgrade item. You also don't really manage your stats in most of them. You just happen along stat boosting potions from time-to-time.

The death penalty is actually quite lenient compared to most of the RPGs before this gen.

I guess it depends which RL you're playing. I was thinking of Dungeons of Dredmor (probably my favorite next to Binding of Isaac), where you're constantly looking out for new weapons and making decisions about which piece of gear to wear.

I think the metroidvania ("post SOTN") comparison is probably the closest. It's a really tough game to categorize, aside from the obvious Action RPG label.

Well, I guess. It's more consumable management than equipment management in RLs though. I mean, upgrading equipment is important, but it's entirely possible to play through some of them without finding a single upgrade item. You also don't really manage your stats in most of them. You just happen along stat boosting potions from time-to-time.

The death penalty is actually quite lenient compared to most of the RPGs before this gen.

I guess it depends which RL you're playing. I was thinking of Dungeons of Dredmor (probably my favorite next to Binding of Isaac), where you're constantly looking out for new weapons and making decisions about which piece of gear to wear.

I think the metroidvania ("post SOTN") comparison is probably the closest. It's a really tough game to categorize, aside from the obvious Action RPG label.

Oh yeah, DoD is definitely definitely has a much bigger emphasis on that stuff.

I was talking mostly about the Shirens, ADOM and Nethack.---Polite conversation should never include Politics, Religion or what constitutes an RPG.Playing a game for it's story is like watching porn for it's story.